The percentage of children walking to school has
plummeted from 42 percent in 1969 to just 16 percent
in 20013. A CDC study reports the top reason parents
do not allow their children to walk to school is the
distance from home to school, followed by traffic
related concerns, weather, and crime4.
Although these numbers only reflect trends in walking
to school, it is reasonable to infer that walking in
general as a mode of transportation also has declined.
This reduction in walking to school may have
contributed to a significant decline in child pedestrian
deaths and injuries and most likely contributed to a
rise in obesity due to lack of physical activity among
youth. However, pedestrian fatalities remain a serious
concern for children.
In October 2002, Safe Kids Worldwide (formerly the
National Safe Kids Campaign) released a study titled
“Report to the Nation on Child Pedestrian Safety.”
The report highlighted child pedestrian injury trends
from 1990-2000. This report, “Latest Trends in Child
Pedestrian Safety: A Five Year Review,” is an updated
look at child pedestrian safety issues, including
demographic information on the victims, where and
when these incidents are taking place, and new this
year, information on the drivers involved in these
incidents.

2

As shown by the graph below, the pedestrian death
rate for children ages 0-14 has declined by 40 percent
over the past 10 years.
Overall Pedestrian Death Rates per 100,000
United States, All Races, Both Sexes, Ages 0 to 14
2.0
CDC WISQARS

1.7

Death Rate

Over the past five years, the pedestrian injury rate for
children ages 0-14 has declined by 29 percent.
1.5
1.5
Overall Pedestrian
1.4Nonfatal Injury Rates per 100,000
United States, All Races, Both Sexes, Ages 0 to 14

Death Rate per 100,000
Injury Rate per 100,000

Between 1995 and 2004, the total number of children
ages 14 and under killed as pedestrians decreased by
40 percent1. However, pedestrian injury is still the
second leading cause of injury-related death in the
United States for children ages 5 to 14. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 583
child pedestrians were killed in 2004; 70 percent of
these deaths were a result of an incident with a motor
vehicle. In addition, more than 33,571 children were
treated in emergency rooms in 2005 for pedestrianrelated injuries2.

These rates include all pedestrian deaths that occurred as a result of a motor vehicle incident as well as those
that were not classified as motor vehicle-related.
Pedestrian Deaths Ages 0-14
By Age Group

* Rates are based on 20 or fewer deaths and therefore may be less reliable.
* Rates are based on 20 or fewer deaths and therefore may be less reliable.
1999

1999

2004

2004

3

Research
METHODOLOGY
Data from the Department of Transportation’s
National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Fatality
Analysis Reporting System was obtained in August
2007 to study trends in child pedestrian-related
fatalities.6 This data contained records of all motor
vehicle incidents that involved child pedestrians ages
0 to 14 from 2001 to 2005. The data was sorted and
any records of pedestrians older than 14, those who
were not fatally injured, or those where fatality or age
was either unknown or unreported were removed. A
total of 345 records were not used for the purposes of
this study.
From 2001 to 2005, 1,811 motor vehicle traffic
incidents involved a fatally injured child pedestrian.
Some 1,830 children lost their lives in these incidents.
While 323 child pedestrians were killed in 2005, the
data shows there has been a 30 percent decline in the
number since 2001.
Year

According to data from the CDC over a similar five
year period, 2000-2004, the death rate for child
pedestrians based on race and ethnicity is as follows.
Pedestrian Deaths and Rates per 100,000
All Races, Both Sexes, Ages 0 to 14, 2000 - 2004
Race

Number of
Deaths

Population

Crude
Rate

235,728,386

0.70

White

1,641

373

Black

651

49,866,628

1.31

2003

366

60

13,301,705

0.45

2004

347

Asian/Pac.
Islander

2005

323

35

4,111,068

0.85

Total

1,830

Am. Indian/
AK Native

Note: Due to the limitations in the available data, the findings do
not necessarily reflect the true exposure of pedestrians or drivers to
walking and driving.

RESULTS
Who’s Dying?
Children ages 2, 13 and 14 accounted for the highest
number of pedestrian deaths during the five years
studied. Children from birth to age 2 are more likely
to suffer non-traffic related pedestrian injuries,
including those occurring in driveways, in parking lots
and on sidewalks.7
Some 60 percent of all children killed as pedestrians
were male and 35 percent were female. In 5 percent of
the incidents, gender was unrecorded. This discrepancy
between number of males and females hit by vehicles
as pedestrians is consistent over the five-year period.

While the number of pedestrian deaths are highest
for white children ages 0-14, according to CDC
data, aggregate data from over a similar five year
period, 2000-2004, black children have the highest
rate of death as pedestrians involved in motor vehicle
incidents based on population size. The death rate
is also higher for Hispanic children as well as for
American Indian/AK Native children. The death rate
is second lowest for white children with the Asian
children having the lowest rate.
Note: Data in chart titled “Pedestrian Death Rates 0 -14 By Race/
Ethnicity” on the previous page reports all pedestrian deaths, not only
motor vehicle related pedestrian deaths, which is why the rates are
lower.

When and Where?

Child Pedestrian Death Rates Among
Children Ages 14 and Under
2001 - 2005

After-school hours and dusk remain the most
dangerous times for child pedestrians, with 55 percent
of fatal incidents occurring between 3 and 7 p.m.

By Age

10%

9.3%
8.9%

9%

8.6%

8pm-6am
20%

3-7pm
55%

8%
7.4%
7.0%

7% 6.7%

6.9%

6.3%

6.9%
6.5%
6.2%

6.3%

7-8am
7%

6.8%

6%

9am-2pm
17%

5.2%

5%
4%

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11 12 13 14

Age

By Year and Gender

300

272

250

241

232

218
197

200
150

149

141

129

125

126

100

Children at a higher risk of being injured or killed as
pedestrians are more likely to live in urban or highdensity areas or in low-income households. In contrast,
those at lower risk tend to live in areas of lower
density and in households of higher socioeconomic
status.9 10 11 12 13 14
More than 80 percent of the fatal incidents occurred
in areas other than intersections such as a mid-block
location, and 75 percent were on roads that were
not divided. The majority, 66 percent, of pedestrian
deaths occurred on roads that were classified as urban,
although there is a higher ratio of deaths to injuries in
rural areas because of higher impact speeds on rural
roads.15 The majority of all incidents, both rural and
urban, occurred on local roads.

50

Time of Year
0

F

M

2001

F

M

2002

F

M
2003

F

M
2004

F

M
2005

The downward trend in the rates of child pedestrian
fatalities over the five-year period is consistent across
the demographic groups. While the findings of the
2002 report are still validâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;boys are more likely to be
fatally injured than girls and children ages 0 to 4 are at
the highest riskâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;there has been significant reduction
in each category. The largest reduction in fatality rates
was shown in children ages 5 to 9, which declined at
twice the rate of children ages 0 to 4 and 10 to 14.

Incidents resulting in child pedestrian fatalities are
highest during the spring and fall, with the greatest
number of child pedestrian deaths due to motor
vehicle incidents occurring during the months of May
and October.
180

174
161

160

168

132 162
154

171
159

144

140

132

120

114
108

100

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

5

Spotlight on Drivers
Of the 1,811 drivers who were involved in fatal
crashes with child pedestrians, 2 percent of drivers
were found to test positive for having drugs in
their system, and 7 percent tested positive for
alcohol use. More than 12 percent of the incidents
were categorized as a “hit and run.” Other top
characteristics recorded include: driving too fast
(9.2 percent), failure to yield (7.1 percent) and
being inattentive (e.g. reading, talking, eating)
(6.5 percent). Less than 20 percent of drivers were
making a turn when the fatal incident occurred;
more than 80 percent were driving straight.

Drivers ages 16 to 25 have been involved in more
incidents where a child pedestrian was killed than
any other age group. Males are at the wheel during
incidents that result in a child pedestrian fatality
more than twice as often as females.
Female
31%

Male
64%

Unreported
5%

Vehicle Type

Eighteen-year-old drivers accounted for 4 percent
(68) of the child pedestrian deaths over the fiveyear period studied, more than any other age driver.
Forty-three incidents involved 18-year-old male
drivers compared to 25 incidents involving 18-yearold female drivers.
30%
25%

Four-door sedans were involved in more incidents
than any other vehicle type (29 percent) followed
by the standard pickup truck (15 percent). Overall,
sedans (two- and four-door) accounted for a total of
38 percent of all incidents. Minivans accounted for
7 percent of all incidents and utility vehicles (small,
midsize, and large SUV’s) accounted for 13 percent.

26.28%
21.26%

20%

18.61%

15%

12.37%

10%

7.84%

5%
0%

16-25

26-35

36-45

46-55

56-65

4.47%
66-75

2.21%
76-85

Age Group

Why?
Children are particularly vulnerable to pedestrian injuries because they are exposed to traffic threats that exceed
their cognitive, developmental, behavioral, physical, and sensory abilities. This is exacerbated by the fact that
parents often overestimate their children’s pedestrian skills. Children are impulsive and have not yet developed
the skills to judge how far away a car is and how quickly it is approaching. Usually, these skills develop
gradually and are not fully mastered until at least age 10.
Traffic environments also contribute to the frequency and severity of pedestrian-related crashes. Children are
more likely to get hit by cars in areas with high traffic volume, a higher number of parked cars on the street,
higher posted speed limits, the absence of a divided highway, few pedestrian control devices, and few alternative
play areas, such as parks.

6

Conclusion
The downward trend in child pedestrian fatalities shown in this
report is encouraging, but more needs to be done to protect
children from injury as they walk. A multifaceted approach which
includes education, advocacy and engineering for safer pedestrian
environments is necessary to continue the prevention of injuries
and encourage more children to walk.
In 2000, Safe Kids Worldwide, with the support of FedEx,
launched Safe Kids Walk This Way, a program that addresses
child pedestrian death and injury at behavioral and environmental
levels. The Safe Kids Walk This Way pedestrian safety program is a
community-based effort that teaches children to be safe pedestrians,
teaches adults to be safe drivers, and advocates for environmental
improvements in places where children walk or would like to be
able to walk.
Over the past eight years, Safe Kids’ 600 coalitions and chapters in
the United States, concerned FedEx volunteers, transportation and
law enforcement officials, and other safety advocates have banded
together to heighten awareness of how walkable communities
protect our children’s health and safety. The Safe Kids Walk This
Way program is just one way to contribute to the downward
trend in pedestrian fatalities. Based on findings from this research
project, Safe Kids Worldwide advises that future child pedestrian
safety initiatives incorporate these specific actions:
• Increase the visibility of child pedestrians through the use of
retro-reflective materials and light/bright colors on jackets and
backpacks, especially during low-light hours such as early in
the morning, after school and evening hours
• Adapt safety education and messages to groups who are at the
highest risk for injury: male, American Indian and Alaskan
native, and black children
• Educate young drivers about the risks of being involved in a
child pedestrian/motor vehicle crash through driver education
classes and graduated licensing programs
• Create injury prevention messages and materials targeted to
drivers who are most likely to be involved in a pedestrian
incident
• Support traffic engineering measures to reduce pedestrian/
motor vehicle crashes, such as the separation of pedestrians
from vehicles by time or space, and the reduction of vehicle
speed
• Establish and enforce lower motor vehicle speed limits,
especially in residential areas and near schools where children
walk or would like to be able to walk

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kids Walk-toSchool: Then and Now- Barrier and Solutions. Available: www.
cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk/then_and_now.htm Accessed:
September 20, 2007.

4

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Barriers to
Children Walking to or from School United States 2004, Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report September 2005. Available: www.
cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5438a2.htm. Accessed:
September 20, 2007.